Bloating

Have you ever had the feeling of being bloated? Dr Joe Kosterich talks about the causes and treatments of bloating, one of the most common symptoms that people have.

 

Bloating is one of the most common sensations or feelings that people will have. Most of the time it’s something that’s fairly harmless and very transitory. We’re just going to talk a little bit about some of the causes and some of the things you may need to do.

It is a symptom, which means it is something that you feel or experience. Most of the time, bloating will be felt as just that – it will feel like your abdomen is swelling or bloating out a little bit – hence the term. Most of the time, there is not a lot to see. Nobody else will necessarily be able to tell that you’re bloated unless it is a little bit more severe – and that’s very, very rare.

Sometimes you may feel, after a meal for example, the need to loosen the belt, and that is a little bit more of a sign of bloating.

What causes bloating? In a lot of instances, we don’t absolutely know. It’s generally caused by a buildup of gas within the stomach and intestine, and in turn that will generally be related to the foods that we’re eating. In Western societies, it is most commonly related to intake of gluten – that is not to say that everybody who gets a little bit bloated has a gluten intolerance, and that’s a very important thing to remember. But when things start to ferment a little bit in the gut, it will cause the production of gas. That gas needs to go somewhere, and until it exits either at the top end or the bottom end, it’s going to stay within the gut and you will have that sensation of bloating.

The body will be quite happy with a certain level of different sorts of food, but for some people, if you have just that little bit more, you will start to get that sensation. Now in most instances it’s going to be very, very transient – it’s going to happen for awhile after a meal and then it’s going to pass. If you can identify specific foods or types of foods that tend to lead to that, well, that’s a good thing, because obviously then you can either (a) avoid those foods or (b) know what’s going to be coming. As I said, gluten-based products are probably number one. If you’re in that boat it might mean, for example, that you could have some pasta for dinner, but if you had pasta, garlic bread and a piece of cake it might tip you over the edge. So people will find their level of comfort and tolerance. Other foods can obviously do it and it will depend upon the individual.

There are a whole range of other reasons why people may feel bloated. For women in particular, there can be hormonal reasons and particularly towards the menstrual cycle and period is when some women will say they feel a bit bloated and they’re retaining a little bit of fluid. In more rare instances, if there are things going on with the liver or kidneys, it may lead to a sensation of bloating as well, and occasionally some hormonal endocrine problems may be it.

The important thing is that most of these conditions are going to be, not necessarily rare, but most people who experience bloating aren’t going to have this. So on a given day, if you feel a bit bloated, you don’t have to go running off to your doctor. If it’s an ongoing and repeated thing, then it is worth getting it checked.

Most of the time it’s going to be related to the gut, and a common condition is called irritable bowel syndrome or irritable colon. This is a condition for which there is no absolute known cause and no absolute cure, but it is sometimes managed through dietary change.

So to get back to simple terms, if you experience bloating after meals, the first thing to ask yourself is: What have I actually had to eat? You don’t have to do a forensic investigation but for most people you’ll start to get an inkling of what does and doesn’t agree with you and to what extent. Left alone and doing nothing, it will pass – the gut will sort itself out and it will pass. There are some over-the-counter preparations that can be used to help with bloating; some have sort of imaginative names that relate to terms like ‘gas’. You can check those things out, but prevention where possible is better than cure.

If it is ongoing and you get this on an everyday basis and, more importantly, if it starts to be associated with some other symptoms such as nausea, maybe some cramps or pains in the tummy, maybe it’s starting to affect your appetite or you’re feeling a little bit unwell or have other symptoms – that’s the time to go to your doctor.

Interestingly, the sensation of bloating varies a little bit between population groups and this does seem to relate very, very much to diet. Often we tend to eat diets that are fairly high in processed and sugary foods, and sugar will ferment. So cutting down on the sugary type foods – it’s not just sweet foods, but a lot of processed or packaged foods – and eating more fruits and vegetables is something that’s going to be fairly helpful in terms of dealing with bloating symptoms. Drinking lots of fizzy drinks or carbonated drinks is not going to help, so drinking more water is probably the way to go with that one.

To sum up, bloating is very, very common. In the vast majority of instances, it is not going to be appointed to anything serious and you’re going to be able to manage it with fairly simple measures, particularly looking at what you’re eating and drinking and just sort of seeing how it seems to agree or disagree with your particular gut. If the symptoms are ongoing and/or there may be some other symptoms, then it’s worth going along to see your doctor. That doesn’t mean that there is a major problem; you may have some tests done and the end result is there’s no particular disease process. That’s a good thing, but may still be worthwhile doing.

Bloating is common and generally not serious. Follow some simple tips and there is a fair likelihood that you will be able to manage it quite successfully by yourself.

More information

For more information, see Abdominal Bloating.